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Now for a discussion about buying stamps. I'm sure everyone has their own favorite dealer, but I'd like to tell you about some of the ways that I buy stamps that work well for me.

To get started in worldwide collecting, the best thing for beginners to do is to buy the largest worldwide assortment of stamps they can afford. You'll gain a lot of enjoyment and knowledge sorting the countries. By the time you get through several thousand stamps in this type of "kiloware," you'll find it will become easier to identify countries.

The next step would be to buy stamp packets of a particular country: 500 stamps from Germany or 1000 from Hungary, etc. These will really help to fill in the country chosen. Consider filling other spaces by visiting dealers, sending them your want lists, or through approvals (stamps sent to you through the mail to look over.) You buy what you want and return the rest. 

Image: A packet of 100 used stamps from Great Britain featuring the royal family.

At this stage of collecting, consider yourself an "intermediate" or "advanced" collector. You're now ready to accumulate better sets of stamps. Be prepared that prices start to grow from here on! Relying exclusively on dealers could prove to be very expensive. You do have other options.

Image: A selection of philatelic auction catalogs.

Mail bids/mail sales are similar to public auctions except that you can't attend in person. When you bid in mail sales, I find you can often win the bid for mint or used stamps for above 50% of the current Scott catalog value. If they are damaged - heavily hinged or short perfs, thin spots, etc., I bid less than 50%, dropping 5% for every flaw mentioned in the description. For mint never hinged (MNH) stamps, in most cases expect to bid 60-80% or even above the 100% mark. Since you're not competing against "floor bidders," winning bids are accepted at the discretion of the mail bid organizer. He may accept the highest bid or reject the offer if he feels the price is too low. Be aware that unpublished "reserve" prices may be on any lot; the reserve price is not met, no one wins the item.

In public auctions, you either mail in a bid or you (or your representative) bid live against "floor bidders." Some of these sales offer much higher priced, and respectively, more scarce and higher quality material. When mailing in a bid at a public auction, bid the highest price you are willing to pay for the lot. Remember, you get just one chance with a mailed in bid. Any floor bidder might out bid you.

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